Problems often occur in connection with such sabots, which lie in the difficulty of providing sealing of the sabot and the sub-caliber projectile, or respectively fin-stabilized projectile, against the high-pressure propulsive gases being generated upon firing.
A sabot in accordance with the preamble is known from EP-A-0 624 774, wherein the, sabot body has an area which is not enclosed by the sabot shell and has a circumferential groove for fastening a shroud. To overcome the above mentioned sealing problems, longitudinal slits and predetermined breaking points are provided in the sabot body, wherein the predetermined breaking points are provided in the area of the interior diameter at the acceleration portion of the sabot body. In the area of the circumferential groove, the longitudinal slits have a T-shaped cross section with two shoulders, which are used as additional sealing faces for the material of the sabot shell located in the longitudinal slits. The acceleration portion of the sabot body is designed to be partially in the shape of a truncated cone with a shell surface widening toward the front. The sabot shell furthermore has a sealing cap, which is designed to work together with the acceleration portion of the sabot body, and a seal.
Further improvements regarding sealing, weight reduction and fragment formation during firing, as well as a simplified structure, are achieved with a further development of the above described sabot known from EP-A-0 855 573. In this case, the sabot body is completely surrounded by the sabot shell, wherein the sabot shell also partially encloses the rear end of the fin-stabilized projectile. The sabot body has the shape of a hollow cylinder provided with circumferential grooves, whose exterior diameter is small in comparison with the diameter of the sabot shell.
With the above described sabots, the fin-stabilized projectile is anchored in the form of a screw connection, wherein the threads of the screw connection must be considered a weak point in regard to sealing.